[bksvol-discuss] Re: Author with MS doesn't suffer in silence
- From: Grandma Cindy <popularplace@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 22 Jan 2008 00:29:23 -0800 (PST)
I think the book title is "Strong at the Broken
Places:
> Voices of Illness, a Chorus
> > of Hope;" at least that's the only book I see
mentioned here, unless I'm missing something. smile
G.Cindy
--- Gary Petraccaro <garyp130@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Which one or both?
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Shelley L. Rhodes" <juddysbuddy@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <bookshare-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Cc: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Monday, January 21, 2008 5:29 PM
> Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Author with MS doesn't
> suffer in silence
>
>
> > This sounds like a great book for the collection.
> >
> > New York Daily News, NY, USA
> > Sunday, December 30, 2007
> >
> > Author with MS doesn't suffer in silence
> >
> > By GINA SALAMONE
> >
> > Sunday, December 30th 2007, 4:00 AM
> >
> > Cohen says the seriously ill share 'almost an
> unspoken language.'
> >
> > Caption: Cohen with the people he interviewed,
> including Buzz Bay (top
> > r.),
> > Denise Glass (seated, l.) and Ben Cumbo
> (foreground).
> >
> > Richard M. Cohen once shied away from sharing the
> pain and frustration of
> > living with two serious illnesses.
> >
> > But the three-time Emmy-winning producer and
> journalist finally let it all
> > out in a memoir published four years ago. Now he's
> allowing others to do
> > the
> > same in his book "Strong at the Broken Places:
> Voices of Illness, a Chorus
> > of Hope," in stores Wednesday.
> >
> > Cohen traveled the country, spending quality time
> over three years with
> > five
> > men and women suffering various chronic diseases.
> Coaxing them out of
> > their
> > shells by relating his own suffering, he got them
> to talk about the most
> > feared facets of sickness - everything from coping
> with embarrassing side
> > effects to facing an early death.
> >
> > He was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at 25.
> Three and a half decades
> > later, the disease of the nervous system has left
> Cohen legally blind and
> > unable to walk without a cane. He has also fought
> off two bouts of colon
> > cancer.
> >
> > Married to "Today" show co-anchor Meredith Vieira,
> Cohen had trouble
> > talking
> > to his wife and their three kids about his
> anguish. In his autobiography,
> > "Blindsided: Lifting a Life Above Illness: A
> Reluctant Memoir," he
> > disclosed
> > all the details.
> >
> > "I really was reluctant because I fought tooth and
> nail against revealing
> > myself," Cohen admits. "I didn't want to tell my
> own story because the
> > thought of actually laying open my life was
> unthinkable. But it became
> > apparent to me that that was the only way the book
> was going to get
> > published."
> >
> > So Cohen told all, but then realized there were
> others who needed to do
> > the
> > same.
> >
> > "I always had this interest in learning how other
> people cope with
> > illness,
> > and it was something I couldn't explore in
> 'Blindsided,'" he says. "When
> > the
> > book came out and I attended a number of forums, I
> was quite taken aback
> > that so many people showed up in wheelchairs and
> on walkers and canes.
> > Three
> > hundred people would come with their own stories.
> And I was totally
> > mesmerized by what they were saying."
> >
> > More than 90 million Americans have chronic
> illnesses, according to the
> > Centers for Disease Control.
> >
> > "Chronic illness is a snapshot of America now, as
> we become the oldest
> > population in the history of the country," Cohen
> points out.
> >
> > And the coping mechanisms used by the sick are as
> diverse as the diseases
> > they have.
> >
> > Cohen couldn't understand why Denise Glass, who's
> featured in his new
> > book,
> > was so adamant in her "no help" attitude.
> >
> > Glass has ALS, an incurable, usually fatal disease
> that breaks down
> > neurons
> > and causes complete paralysis. While she's far
> from that point, her speech
> > and movement have slowed, and she has lost some
> coordination.
> >
> > But Glass, who's divorced and lives alone,
> dismisses any suggestions to
> > get
> > a caregiver. Her biggest fear is losing her
> independence.
> >
> > She has given up looking for a love interest,
> insisting she's better off
> > without a husband and kids to leave behind or
> watch her suffer.
> >
> > And Glass isn't close to her parents and siblings,
> either - saying they
> > never told her they were sorry about her
> diagnosis, and that they didn't
> > even sit next to her or hold her hand when the
> doctor told her.
> >
> > "Denise was a tough nut to crack," says Cohen.
> "Because she's so
> > grievously
> > ill, she's a bit hardened and a little defensive
> about the lifestyle she's
> > chosen, the solitude."
> >
> > With patience, Cohen eventually got Glass to
> introduce him to her family,
> > and to admit that her cats comforted her in a way
> that the humans around
> > her
> > never could.
> >
> > "There's almost an unspoken language among people
> who deal with serious
> > illnesses," he says. "It made it a little bit
> easier and a little more
> > palatable for the people in the book to know that
> I'd been there, too."
> >
> > Taking time to build a level of comfort also
> worked with Buzz Bay, a
> > 46-year-old from Indiana who remains optimistic
> about his fight against
> > non-Hodgkin's lymphoma through his steadfast
> belief in God and heaven.
> >
> > Unlike Glass, Bay has a spouse and son to find
> comfort in. But he still
> > spoke about how isolating illness can be.
> >
> > "Even when you're surrounded by a loving family
> and an infrastructure of
> > support, in the end, you're really in it alone,"
> Cohen explains. "When
> > you're in pain or discomfort, my tendency, and the
> tendency of a lot of
> > people, is to retreat a little bit. It really is a
> lonely feeling."
> >
> > Ben Cumbo knows it all too well. He was in college
> during his meetings
> > with
> > Cohen. While his peers were mingling and coming
> home late, Cumbo avoided
> > parties and was afraid to talk to girls.
> >
> > Confined to a wheelchair by muscular dystrophy, he
> admits he's angry and
> > sad
> > about his plight, and that his disability has made
> him self-conscious.
> >
> > "Ben went through a very difficult process of
> trying to work through his
> > hangups about what other people thought about
> him," says Cohen. "He always
> > instinctively thought people saw him as less of a
> person and held him in
> > lower regard."
> >
> > But Cumbo actually worked this problem out through
> his discussions with
> > Cohen. "In our last meeting, he said that the book
> had forced him to look
> > at
> > himself and the way he responds to other people
> and deals with his fears,"
> > Cohen says. "We sometimes make things darker than
> they are."
> >
> >
> >
>
http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/health/2007/12/30/2007-12-30_author_with_ms_doesnt_suffer_in_silence-1.html
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> >
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> > 12/31/2007
> > 3:32 PM
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